• I have a series of questions involving my 1991 Mercedes 300CE
    9 replies, posted
I have a 1991 Mercedes 300CE, and as one can imagine, over 20 years of wear and tear have started to take their toll. I think I'll get to the most pressing issue first. The right front fender is busted as fuck. I clipped an FBI car on the way to school several weeks ago...anyway, I was wondering if I should have it repaired by a professional, or purchase a replacement fender and install it myself or have someone else install it. Here is a picture of the damage: [thumb]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YfRWxDu3ITY/Ti_vriuNiiI/AAAAAAAAAXc/eBKdPs_gk8I/s512/2011-07-27_06-59-34_900.jpg[/thumb] Now, the fender was bent in so far that when I went over a bump the wheel would rub up against the underside of the fender so I had to pull it out: [thumb]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8tyhWXHL_yg/TjDL8w4dmsI/AAAAAAAAAYM/CmLJqgMOts8/s800/2011-07-27_14-33-02_7.jpg[/thumb] It is drivable and doesn't really bother me, but I'd like to get it fixed as it looks really tacky. Now for the second issue. The central locking system isn't working properly. The system is vacuum operated. You cannot lock all the doors from one lock anymore. The vacuum motor makes a clicking noise, then doesn't run. However, it runs when you try unlocking the car. If anyone has any suggestions here I'd love to hear them; I'm just about stumped at this point. Next comes the drivers side window. The window rolls down with a little hesitation, then upon rolling up makes a horrid noise and goes really slowly. Sometimes it won't roll up all the way and will stop about an inch from the top. I'm thinking the window tracks need to be greased, but I don't know how to go about doing that. Some last minor things are that the cruise control doesn't work. No idea why it doesn't, but not a huge issue. The bright headlights work, but they don't work for flashing. On the control stick you push out to turn the brights on, and pull towards you to flash the lights. Pushing out works, pulling towards you doesn't. I think that's just about it. If I think of anything more, I'll update the OP.
the window thing happened on my honda. It can be greased, which should help, but usually it's just that the rubber seals press too tightly on the window. No idea why that happens.
How did you manage to hit an FBI car? :v: And surely your insurance would cover it? Anyway, I would recommend against getting it repainted, since a quality paint job is expensive, and you would never get a 100% colour match on a '90s paint job. Also it [I]looks[/I] like the wing might be too badly deformed to fix without adding a shitload of filler, which should be avoided. Assuming the wing is bolt on - bolt off, I would recommend ringing some scrap yards until you find another E-Class about the same age and colour and simply buy one of them. It's maybe an hour's work to put a new wing on (assuming there's only the indicator light attached to it), it probably wouldn't cost you more than £20-50/$30-60 and it would need nothing more than a good clean and polish to look like new. My two cents. The headlight flashing issue sounds like it could simply be the actual light stalk. If everything else works then it's usually a faulty switch. Listen to see if there's any (solenoid-ey) clicking noise when you pull it. If you don't hear that, then the switch isn't making contact for some reason. As for the windows, do what 'Reaper said. Spray some WD40 onto the edges of the glass and into the rubber. If that doesn't fix it then you're looking at a new motor possibly. Don't be afraid to get stuck in, by the way - see if you can find a workshop manual and find out how to do some of these things. Once you've taken the mystery out of your own car's workings you'll never want to pay a garage to do any work on it again after you understand how simple it can be.
The FBI car got in my way. I didn't report it to insurance because premiums would go up as I haven't had an accident before. FBI car had no damage, and I just had the fender dented. I've contacted some yards and a fender for the car runs about $150, but they're rare in that color. I have to drive from DC to Connecticut to get it. It is bolt on, so it should be fairly easy. I'll do the WD40 trick tomorrow and post the results here. There isn't any noise when I pull the stalk towards me, so I guess the connection is bad. It isn't that important, so whatever. The central locking system is still what I'm really confused about. When you lock the car, you can hear the vacuum motor make a clicking noise, but it doesn't run. However, it runs when you unlock the car. I'll try to find a manual as well. Thanks for the advice! [editline]24th August 2011[/editline] Ordered this: [url]http://www.ioffer.com/i/mercedes-benz-300ce-e320-coupe-service-repair-manual-143920181[/url]
[QUOTE=dbk21894;31929364]The FBI car got in my way.[/QUOTE] that's pretty vague did they fail to yield or something?
No, it was my fault. It was 6:30 in the morning (with abnormally heavy traffic) and I was driving on 495 (Dulles Toll Road) inbound, was in the left lane, jackass in front of me slowed down, I tried to get out of the lane and the FBI car popped up out of nowhere. Clipped him, not much damage, short contact. He didn't care, it was a government car. The cop was really cool about it too. She said that her first car was a 300CE, and that I need to take care of mine :)
[QUOTE=dbk21894;31929364] [editline]24th August 2011[/editline] Ordered this: [url]http://www.ioffer.com/i/mercedes-benz-300ce-e320-coupe-service-repair-manual-143920181[/url][/QUOTE] Good man. I honestly have no idea about the central locking - I know it's an incredibly irritating issue (the plipper on my old Renault went a couple of years ago) but all the cars I've ever owned/driven have had electric solenoid-operated locks. The manual might shed some light, but as far as my experience goes; if it's a vacuum issue don't expect it to be simple.
W124s have a really crappy wiring harness - this might be the cause of your problems? Go to a benz specific forum like benzworld or w124zone, they might be able to help you.
I had the wiring harness replaced 7 months ago :s
So I sprayed WD40 all over the rubber seals for the window, it helped a little bit but didn't totally correct the problem. Now my window is covered in grease though :c. I'm thinking the motor needs to be replaced. 20 years of use can take its toll. The rubber seals feel as though they had a felt coating that is no longer there. They also feel extremely stiff. I might just order new seals. [editline]29th August 2011[/editline] Merge failure :s
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